Sports
2023 Gazette Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year: Ella Laliberte, Granby
By HANNAH BEVIS
With just seconds left in her final high school lacrosse game, Granby’s Ella Laliberte was one tally away from hitting 300 career goals. Everyone on her team knew, including Laliberte, and they quickly came up with a simple but effective plan of...
2023 Gazette Baseball Player of the Year: Patrick Fitzgibbons, Hopkins Academy
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
Greg Vreeland called his older brother, Hopkins Academy baseball coach Dan Vreeland, over to the hitting tunnel set up near the field. The mesh cage allowed the Golden Hawks’ junior varsity call ups and bench players to take batting practice swings...
2023 Gazette Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Logan Alfandari, Amherst
By HANNAH BEVIS
In the summer of 2022, after his freshman season, Amherst’s Logan Alfandari carefully poured a throwing circle in his backyard with his dad’s help. He decided that he wanted to have a place to get some extra practice after making a splash in throws...
2023 Gazette Girls Tennis Player of the Year: Ava Shea, Belchertown
By HANNAH BEVIS
Belchertown junior Ava Shea came into this tennis season with clear goals and a laser focus. Athletically, Shea was already a formidable opponent, with a serve that makes her opponents quake in their sneakers and the experience of playing No. 2...
Amherst’s Ryan Leonard goes to Washington Capitals at No. 8 in NHL Draft
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
Stars and stripes suit Ryan Leonard, apparently.The Washington Capitals, with their red white and blue color scheme, selected the Amherst native with the eighth overall pick in Wednesday’s NHL Draft at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Leonard...
Call him ‘goal-oriented’: Amherst hockey prodigy Ryan Leonard likely a top 10 NHL Draft pick
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
AMHERST — John Leonard calls his youngest son Ryan “goal-oriented.”As much as Amherst’s Ryan Leonard excels at putting the hockey puck in the net, his father is referring to aspirations and desired achievements.“He keeps a lot of the goals to himself,...
Golden Hawks baseball run ends at Div. 5 state final
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
WORCESTER — Bourne’s bats built a bridge too far for Hopkins Academy.The No. 9 seed Golden Hawks rallied in nearly every game of the state tournament but couldn’t make it all the way back against the No. 2 Canalmen in the MIAA Division 5 championship...
Turners softball holds off Hopkins comeback to reach Div. 5 state final (PHOTOS)
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
WESTFIELD — The Turners Falls softball team is back in a familiar position. The Thunder entered Tuesday’s MIAA Div. 5 semifinal against Hopkins looking to keep their season alive as they seek an 11th state championship in program history, but the No....
Class D softball: Hopkins reaches 1st WMass final since 2005, falls to powerhouse Turners Falls
By HANNAH BEVIS
WESTFIELD — For Turners Falls pitcher Madi Liimatainen, the Western Mass. Class D final on May 30 was everything she wanted and more. The sophomore struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits in an 8-1 victory over No. 2 Hopkins, returning the...
Frontier wins WMass Class C championship over Smith Voc
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
GREENFIELD — The Rooster hummed a song of victory in his head while staring defeat in the eyes.Frontier Regional junior Wyatt Edes, nicknamed after the barnyard crower for his flowing red locks and crimson goatee, stood in the Veterans Field batter’s...
Boys tennis: Dragons take down Lenox to secure PVCICS’ 1st-ever Western Mass. championship (PHOTOS)
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Teddy Scott noticed the dust in the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School trophy case.The runner up trophy from last season’s Western Massachusetts Class C boys tennis final loss against Lee also caught his eye. Scott...
2022-23 Gazette Boys Indoor Track Athlete of the Year: David Pinero-Jacome, Amherst
By HANNAH BEVIS
Winning a state title isn’t just about talent and hard work — though that certainly plays a large part of it.For Amherst junior David Pinero-Jacome and his coach Bob Rosen, it was also about planning.The two spent the season experimenting with...
2022-23 Gazette Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Tessa Kawall, Amherst
By HANNAH BEVIS
Tessa Kawall has always been a supremely talented basketball player — Amherst head coach Ralph Loos often calls her a “freak” when talking about her athletic ability. But until somewhat recently, Kawall could sometimes let her emotions get the best of...
UMass basketball: Mike Leflar introduced as new Minutewomen head coach
By HANNAH BEVIS
AMHERST — There wasn’t an empty seat inside a packed Massachusetts room at the Mullins Center last Wednesday afternoon. It seemed as though the entire UMass athletics department had turned out for new women’s basketball coach Mike Leflar’s...
UMass notebook: Sam Breen named 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player Of The Year
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
Add one more jewel to Queen Breen’s crown.UMass graduate student forward Sam Breen was named the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player Of The Year on Wednesday, becoming the fourth winner in the award’s history and first Minutewoman.“I am super blessed...
Girls basketball: Central takes down Amherst in Class A final, 61-47 (PHOTOS)
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
WESTFIELD — Blood pooled in the cut on Audrey Bowen’s lower lip.She and the Amherst Regional girls basketball team took a punch against Springfield Central in the Western Massachusetts Class A championship game Saturday.The defending champion Golden...
D2 girls state swimming & diving: Amherst collects 2nd-place trophy
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
CAMBRIDGE — Lucy Smith placed one hand on fellow Amherst Regional senior Deborah Wells’ back, said, “I’ve got something for you.”She handed over the MIAA Division 2 Girls Swimming state finalist trophy she’d held since the Hurricanes received it to...
Amherst’s Tamar Byl-Brann named Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year
By HANNAH BEVIS
Amherst’s cross country program has a long and storied history. Its one of the schools in the area that has been able to cultivate sustained success, with many impressive athletes leaving their mark.Even so, it’s rare that athletes like Tamar...
Amherst’s David Pinero-Jacome named Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year
By HANNAH BEVIS
Before he ever laced up a pair of cross country spikes, David Pinero-Jacome was a soccer player.It seemed like an inevitability that he’d keep playing the game – soccer was the ‘sport of the house,’ with David playing striker and his twin brother...
Boys basketball: New faces called upon this winter
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
No area boys basketball teams reached the state semifinal round last season, and the three quarterfinalists Granby, Holyoke and Hopkins Academy will need new galvanizing forces after graduating large and impactful senior classes.The Purple Knights...
